UPDATE: Download link is active now! I really think people don’t know what groove is any more— I heard the worst thing in the world on the radio* a few days ago, and I WISH […]
Category: Groove o’ the day
Groove o’ the day: Art Blakey tom tom groove
This is a fast Latin groove played by Art Blakey during a solo on a concert video filmed in Japan, posted on Twitter by jazz writer Ted Gioia. I’m sure Blakey plays it on his […]
Page o’ coordination: Freddie Waits Afro
UPDATE: A student brought it to my attention that according to Wikipedia, Idris Muhammad is the drummer on this track. Which surprises me, but there you go. A combination groove o’ the day and page […]
Grooves o’ the day: Art Blakey Latin
Two very similar Latin grooves recorded by Art Blakey in 1960 and ’61. On both of them the bell pattern has that little syncopated move across the barline that we see a few years later […]
Groove o’ the day: Tony Allen / African Message
More Afrobeat: here’s Tony Allen playing with Africa 70. The tune is African Message, from the album No Accommodation For Lagos. Tempo is 118. It’s starts with solo drums playing this groove: Here’s a little […]
Groove o’ the day: Ndugu Latin
Listening to Ndugu Leon Chancler is always a great lesson in how to play funk, and how to use a set with a lot of tom toms. How to use the tom toms period. I […]
Groove o’ the day: Louis Hayes calypso
A calypso-type groove played by Louis Hayes in 1957, on the Curtis Fuller album Volume 3, on Blue Note. The tune is Quantrale, a light thing written by Fuller. Hayes plays variations on the groove […]
Groove o’ the day: Airto – Street Vendors D’Jmbo
A baiao-type drum set groove from Airto— actually I don’t know what to call this. I’m not hearing obvious markers of a particular style. Maybe Airto’s just playing. Someone who really knows their berimbau rhythms […]
Groove o’ the day: Milton Banana – Samba do Perdão
A moderate samba groove using the tom toms, from one of my favorite Brazilian drummers, Milton Banana. He plays this briefly at the beginning, middle, and end of Samba do Perdão, from his album O Trio. […]
Groove o’ the day: Neftali Santiago – Positive Thing
Groove o’ the day by Neftali Santiago of the band Mandrill, one of the people you should be listening to to get a real 70s funk thing happening with your drumming— along with Jerome Brailey, […]
Groove o’ the day: Chico Hamilton waltz
Here’s Chico Hamilton playing his version of an Elvin-type waltz in 1962. I’ve always assumed it was Elvin’s thing, that everybody else was copying. Maybe it was a type of groove everyone hip was doing, […]
Groove o’ the day: Philly Joe Afro 6
From the Sonny Rollins album Newk’s Time, another individualistic version of an Afro 6/8 groove, played by Philly Joe Jones on Asiatic Raes, a Kenny Dorham tune. On the snare line, the x is a […]